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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend October 10, 2006 Southern Oregon University student trainer Julie Patterson assesses freshman football player Tom Vikre's food choices during lunch at the Cascade dorm. SOU students are advised to make careful choices considering the many dessert options (shown at top) in the Cascade dorm cafeteria. (Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell) Freshman 15 First-year college students often gain more than an education when they discover that the hardest course to pass is dessert ... or pizza ... or burgers ... or snacks ... or, did we mention pizza? By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune It's called the "Freshman 15." It's the tendency of incoming college students, free at last from the dietary restrictions of well-meaning parents, to binge on yummy, high-fat foods like pizza, burgers and fries (and beer, of course) — and to end up with 15 unwanted and unexpected pounds before June finals. "It's all the choices for dessert in the dorm. There's lots of salad, but why eat salad when you can have a burger," says Southern Oregon University senior Julie Patterson, a health and physical education senior, who remembers those first heady days away from her parents' home. "When you're living at home, parents cook and buy groceries, plus your metabolism burns it up. But at the dorm, you have a meal card and all these options. You get what tastes best, not what's best for you," says Patterson. In college, with more stress, homework and buildings around you, it's harder to exercise — and the university's weight room lacks the equipment of most commercial gyms, she adds. Advertisement What to do? "I've learned to manage what I eat and be sure and get vegetables and proteins I need ... and I work out at the Y." One SOU student looking into the jaws of "Freshman 15" is Kelsey Pate, a dorm-dwelling freshman from Alaska, now in her first weeks, but determined not to fall prey to this syndrome she's heard so much about. "I'm not eating much pizza, just a little. I'm not doing my jogging, like I should. Afraid? No, not really," she says. "I think the weight gain in the first year comes from being overstressed, getting homesick and eating more. I'm eating a lot of salad. I'll be OK." At the root of Freshman 15, says Medford nutritionist Christy Morrell is one simple fact — these kids may be adults, but it's their first time away from home and the first time they've ever eaten on their own, with total control over choices. "They go a little wild. They invariably choose with their eyes, not with their stomachs," Morrell says. "They're homesick, too, and they take care of themselves with food. A lot of the weight gain disappears when they get back home for the summer." At the SOU student health center, director Laura Robin, M.D., says Freshman 15 is more like Freshman 35. "It's a combination of being away from home for the first time, having unlimited options for food, making all your own choices, very often drinking more alcohol, which is also fattening — and the student lifestyle is fairly sedentary, unless you make an effort to work out or get on a team," Robin says. Another sneaky element of Freshman 15 is that many students like to stay up late socializing or doing screen-based activities, then, when metabolism is at its lowest (late in the day), they snack — and the food doesn't get metabolized very well, Robin adds. "It's a big, whole extra meal. It's more calories on a diet that's already high in calories and carbs, full of fats, especially from fast foods, where you get trans fats, not the kind of fats you need," she notes. In addition to the signature pizza and burgers, the average freshman diet is about lots of filling breads, sandwiches, subs, spaghetti, with Ramen noodles a "huge staple," she says. All these are high carb foods, but most carbs should come from near the top of the food pyramid in the form of fruits and veggies — and as part of light meals, she says. "They don't think to pick up an apple. They pick up a power bar, sandwich or candy bar — not good," Robin says. "Some grow out of it, some don't. What seems to happen is they stop fitting in their clothes and don't feel as well as they want to. A lot of them start exercising and watching what they're eating." Many disparage dorm food as overly starchy, but, while the trans-fat chow is still there, you'll find a wider range of nutritious stuff — starting with ample salad bars, veggies and pieces of fruit. But, for too many young college students, "eating healthy stuff is just not fun." Nutrition educator Pauline Sullivan of OSU Extension readily verifies the menace of Freshman 15, noting "I went from 130 to 152 in my freshman year and never lost it. College stresses you out and no one tells you to eat what you're supposed to." Young students, says Ashland nutrition author Ross Pelton, "don't have a good understanding of nutritional reality. They get out of the box, going from a fairly structured situation to a lot of freedom and they're going to take advantage of it. There are parties and what's served is pizza and pasta, stuff that's easy to serve." "It happened to me," says Dr. Robin Miller of Asante's Triune Integrative Health Center. "You eat too much and you don't exercise. You're away from home. The pizza is readily available. You start drinking — alcohol and soda — and they have empty calories and are very fattening." Should parents be alarmed at Freshman 15 and try to crack down? No, says Morrell, "the parent can do more harm than good by saying something — and girls are very susceptible to comments about their weight." Just like all their other passages in growing up years, kids adjust, learn — and Freshman 15 eventually passes, too. "I remember the freedom from my parents' schedule," says SOU librarian Anna Beauchamp, who battled Freshman 15 at Reed College. "I was pretty wild in what I ate, but I soon learned and became a vegetarian — much healthier and it's also easier." Says senior Fela Winfrey, "It was a real challenge. I was stuck on the OSU campus with nothing but fast food and mini markets. I gained 15 or 20 pounds. I was somewhat freaked out. You had to work hard to find something not pre-packaged. I started working out with bow-flex and walking, eating more yogurt and other good foods." At SOU, things are a lot better, Winfrey notes, with good choices available at cafeterias, lots of support for bicycling and many quick, one-credit classes packed with fitness workouts. "Freshmen? If they're of the age to go to college," says Winfrey, "they're old enough to learn what to do about Freshman 15 — and most learn it the hard way." John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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